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For those about to rock, we(I), review you!



Hello, my name is Tom, and I'm a lurker!

With the second leg of the tour about to begin, I saved my review for now.  
With all that was happening back then: John's death, going on with the 
tour,etc., the experience wasn't a normal Who event obviously.  I saw the 
show at Shoreline on 7-3.  The crowd seemed excited, yet subdued, 
apprehensive almost.  Saw a lot of Who t-shirts etc. on people, and many 
crowding the 2 merchandise booths for more.  "Would this be the last time?", 
was on a lot of people's mind I think.  It was nice to see a lot of families 
at the show.  The kids will remember the experience for a long time I'm sure.
Counting Crows came on shortly after 7:30, and played a good set, I guess.  
I'm not much of a Crows fan, but a lot of people seemed to like them.  About 
10 to 15 minutes after the Crows left they showed a JBL sponsored short 
presentation shot during tour rehearsals.  Unfortunately it was still light 
out, and didn't show up well on the screens down by the stage.  They would 
have been better off showing it after the show instead.  Of course they had 
been advertising fireworks after the show.  They never happened, but that's 
another story.
Before I go on, let me state that my view of the show was not the best.  I 
was on the lawn with binoculaurs, but watched most of the show from the 
screens.  I couldn't afford better tickets.  Living in the Bay Area on a low 
budget, (check it and see!), I was just happy to be there to see The Who!  
The Who took the stage accompanied by a roar from the crowd.  The set list 
was:
Can't Explain
Substitute  
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
Who Are You
Another Tricky Day
Bargain
Relay
Baba O'Riley
Eminence Front
Sea and Sand
5:15
Love Reign Over Me
Behind Blue Eyes
You Better, You Bet
Kids Are Alright
My Generation
Won't Get Fooled Again
Encore:
Pinball Wizard
Amazing Journey
Sparks
See Me, Feel Me

Pete was very animated playing his guitar-lots of windmilling-jumping 
around.etc.  In fact during My Generation jam, Pete tripped on a cord I 
believe, and tumbled backward, knocking a P.A. over.  A little scary when it 
happened, but Pete never fell, and just kept on jammin.  Pete did seem a 
little reserved conversation-wise at first, but loosened up with time.
Roger sang with a lot of emotion.  He really seemed to be putting his all 
into it.  He seemed to be a little rusty swinging his mic., but took care of 
a couple of tambourines during the Tommy encore.  The encore really blew me 
away.  I hadn't seen Amazing Journey, Sparks, and See Me, Feel Me since my 
first Who live experience in 76 with Keith.  Zack really shined here I 
thought!  Zack was incredible.  He really seemed to be taking a hand in 
driving The Who.  I really wish I was closer to better gauge his performance. 
 He wasn't hi-lited much on the video screens.  Mostly Pete and Roger, of 
course.  Pino seemed to be relaxed and played fine from what I could tell.  
The bass was not a s prevalent in the mix, as it would have been with John.  
The only time the bass was real noticeable was during My Gen.  He did a good 
job, putting a little of his own touch on the part.  Rabbit was steady as 
always, and Simon kind of lurked in the background next to Zack.
In my opinion, the jamming wasn't quite as good as the last tour.  They had 
good jams-just not as long in duration as the past.  Probably due to having 
to replace John (I know, John can't BE replaced), at such a short notice.  
Bargain seemed to have a more developed jam in it this time around, and Kids 
Are Alright jam had both Pete and Roger singing added verses this tour.  
Quite nice!  I thought they played quite sharp at times.  Baba O' Riley 
seemed to be right on at the ending for example.  At times I remember them 
sounding a little sloppy at times, but nothing stands out in my mind at the 
moment.  But The Who never fail to amaze me, and this show was GREAT in my 
opinion.  With the improved Zack, I couldn't help but think of what a force 
they could have been with John there!
Now that more time has passed since John's death, I think you all will be 
able to enjoy the shows a little more then I was able to.  One thing I know 
for sure.  When you see the Who up there, without John, it takes some getting 
used to.  Don't think I'll ever be able to.  Hope you all get to see some 
different songs this leg, maybe even a new one!  ENJOY the shows!, and write 
about them.  I'd like to hear about your Who experiences!  Also, I was 
wondering if ther are any bootlegs out there of the Shoreline show.  If so , 
I'd like to get a copy.  A trade if possible, though it seems everything I 
have, everyone else already has!  So far I have copies of the 3 previous Who 
shows I've attended.  Rest in peace John and Keith!

                                                       Tom
By the way.  I was in a local indie store yesterday, and saw a collector's 
edition of The Ultimate Collection, with a bonus disc with 4 "rare and 
unreleased" songs.  Anyone know what's on the bonus disc?  I'm sure someone 
here must!  I was wondering if I made a mistake in not purchasing it.  I 
bought the new Steve Miller King Biscuit discs instead.  Quite good  - I 
might add!